Usefulness of serological ELISA assay forTaenia saginata to detect naturally infected bovines

Abstract

Bovine cysticercosis, a cosmopolitan disease caused by Taenia saginata, leads to economic losses due to carcass devaluation at slaughter. Sanitary inspection at slaughterhouses, the routine diagnostic method in Brazil, lacks the necessary sensitivity to detect the mildly infected cattle that are typically encoutered in Brazil. In this study we have tested cattle sera from animals diagnosed as positive and negative by veterianry inspection for (1) anti-parasite antibodies using metacestodes antigens (T. solium vesicular fluid and T. saginata secretions) and (2) the HP10 secreted antigen of viable metacestodes. The cut-off values were calculated by ROC curve for intense and mild infections conditions, and by the classical method ( for negative samples). The sensitivity and specificity of these diagnostic tests were different depending on the assumed cut-off value and, importantly, whether the infection was mild or intense. In spite of these observations, however, such ELISA assays for serum antibodies and parasite antigens constitute an important tool for epidemiological porposes, and in establishing priorities for the control of bovine cysticercosis.

Present status of laboratory diagnosis of human taeniosis/cysticercosis in Europe

“…T. solium infection is consistently classified as the most relevant food-borne parasite worldwide [ 16 , 17 ]. T. saginata causes economic loss in the bovine meat sector due to condemned carcasses [ 18 , 19 ].…”

Desempenho do ELISA no diagnóstico da cisticercose utilizando bovinos experimentalmente e naturalmente infectados com o metacestódeo de Taenia saginata

“…Vale ressaltar que a utilização de 2 ou 3 SD como critério de ponto de corte é dependente do objetivo dos ensaios, visto que, a utilização de 3 SD é mais apropriado para fins de diagnóstico e 2 SD para testes de triagem ou seleção (PINTO et al, 2000). Paulan et al (2013) relatam também a correlação entre ponto de corte e taxa de sensibilidade do ELISA.…”

“…Diversos autores relatam a necessidade de se pesquisar e implementar o teste ELISA como método auxiliar à inspeção visual de rotina, buscando maior eficiência no diagnóstico da cisticercose bovina (QUEIROZ et al, 2000;MINOZZO et al, 2004;MONTEIRO et al, 2008). A utilização do teste ELISA revela que a prevalência da cisticercose bovina, realizada por meio de detecção através da inspeção clássica realizada em matadouros-frigoríficos é subestimada (DORNY et al, 2000), pois o exame de rotina anátomo-patológico é um método considerado de baixa sensibilidade, especialmente em infecções leves (BAVIA et al, 2012;PAULAN et al, 2013).…”

Characterization of immunogenic protein fractions of Sheep Cysticercosis in Cairo, Egypt

“…A variety of serological techniques were applied for diagnosis of metacestod infection in different animals (Oliveira et al 2010;Paulan et al 2013& Mousa et al 2014; however, the sensitivity and specificity of these techniques were highly affected by the type of the tested sera as well as a degree of purity of the antigen especially with the complex nature of metacestodes antigen, which exhibits variable degrees of cross reactivity (Varela-Diaz et al 1977). A combination of more than one serological test, using of the sera of known infection history and purified antigens was recommended to achieve a proper diagnosis of cysticercosis (Sultan et al 2012).…”